Direct measurements of the genuine efficiency of thermocells

The use of waste heat could make an important contribution to a global sustainable supply of energy. Thermogalvanic devices are simple chemistry-based devices that can convert heat into electricity through simple redox chemistry.

The efficiency of this process is the ratio between the electrical energy produced by the cell (in watts) and the amount of thermal energy that flows through the cell (also in watts).

Until now, the amount of thermal energy that is passed through a thermal cell has been estimated by applying a model. In this study, a research team from King’s College London, led by Maria A. Trosheva, used greenteg heat flux sensors to quantify both the heat flux and electrical power of the thermogalvanic cell.

This revealed a large discrepancy between the measured efficiency and the standard (estimated) method: the estimated efficiency turned out to be significantly higher and less accurate than the actual measured performance. This is an important finding for the further development of thermogalvanic cells.

gSKIN XP sensors are used to measure heat flux and electrical power in thermogalvanic cells.

https://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlelanding/2022/sc/d1sc06340e